Automated build systems are the workhorses of the software development team. They tirelessly do what they are told. They get. They clean. They build. They rebuild. They copy. They deploy. They test. And they don’t judge those who break the build. Without emotion, they just do what they are told. We can’t live without them.

The problem is that an automated build system such as this can be more difficult to construct than the underlying application the team really cares about. Why is this? From my experience, it’s caused by several factors. MSBuild is not widely understood and is quite complex. There are no IDEs that support a visual “drag and drop” editing and debugging experience. Most teams don’t have a dedicated “build master” to learn this new language and wrangle all of those angle brackets. As a result, scripts are located on the Web and spliced together to make something that works without the editor really understanding what’s going on. This is unacceptable.

When Microsoft first introduced MSBuild with .NET 2.0, it was without a bang. This stealthy feature surfaced only when you tried to open a Visual Studio 2003 project in Visual Studio 2005 and you were forced to upgrade your project—primarily because of the conversion of the project file to an MSBuild format. The curious would poke around by opening their .CSPROJ files in Notepad and taking a look. The truly curious would take it a step further and start learning this new language, in order to make their desktop builds more interesting. My interest in MSBuild came from a Team Foundation Build perspective. Knowing that Team Foundation Build is a critical piece of the Visual Studio Team System puzzle, I spent a considerable amount of energy learning its inner workings. Fortunately, the majority of functionality in Team Build is provided by MSBuild so, as a side benefit, I was able to learn this new dark art. And it rocks!

What’s been missing until now is a solid reference and tutorial on MSBuild. Inside the Microsoft Build Engine fills that void. No longer will build engineers or build stuckees be forced to search for understanding and examples. From the very first chapter you will learn the key elements: tasks, targets, and properties. This provides a quick start into using MSBuild and sends you down the road of productivity.

Continuing on, you will drill down to learn all of the other capabilities, tricks, and time-saving features of MSBuild, enabling you to automate the really difficult builds. The final chapters reveal a nice surprise, which is a discussion of Team Foundation Build, and how MSBuild uniquely works within it.

I’m sure you will enjoy this read. Each chapter contains scripts, screenshots, and troubleshooting advice, and not just commentary. In fact, the commentary section is almost finished—just give me one more thought. I’d just like to make a prediction. I predict that this book will become stained by coffee, crumbs, and greasy fingers and otherwise mistreated due its close proximity to the keyboard and general overuse.

As software complexity continues to increase, more emphasis is being placed on proper build practices. Previously (before .NET 2.0) the build process for .NET applications was mostly a black box. Now this process has been completely externalized in the Microsoft Build Engine, MSBuild. MSBuild allows you to take control over every aspect of the build process. Since the release of MSBuild, there has been a need for a definitive reference. Inside the Microsoft Build Engine is that definitive reference! We have been working for over a year on this book, and the MSBuild team has been involved right from the beginning.

MSBuild files are just XML files. Starting with Visual Studio 2005 managed projects use the MSBuild file format. Because of this you are able to fine-tune, or even completely change, how your projects are built. Using MSBuild you can customize your build process by adding steps such as code generation, unit testing, or code analysis. You can also use MSBuild to assist in automating the build and deployment process, as well as implementing continuous integration.

In this book we start with the fundamentals of MSBuild, like properties and items, and work up to advanced topics such as custom tasks and batching. Throughout these chapters you will be guided with expert insight and powerful examples. You will learn how MSBuild evaluates properties, items and conditions as well as how targets are executed. Chapters 8 and 9 are dedicated to applying the MSBuild concepts learned. Chapter 9 focuses on topics relating to Web development.

This book contains 12 chapters, nine of which are devoted to MSBuild. The remaining three chapters are focused on Team Foundation Build 2008 (Team Build). Team Build 2008 is the latest version of the build automation component of Visual Studio Team System. It takes MSBuild to the next level by allowing it to scale to the team, product, or enterprise level. This is achieved by tight integration with the other components of Visual Studio Team System, including version control, testing, work item tracking, and reporting.

Team Build was one of the most enhanced components in Visual Studio Team System 2008 and addressed a number of limitations in earlier versions resulting in an extremely powerful platform for automating build processes. This version includes functionality such as allowing builds to be queued on build machines, retention policies to automatically remove unneeded builds, and an improved and easier-to-use API for integrating Team Build into your own applications or external processes.

The latter part of this book explores the functionality that ships with Team Build 2008 and how it can be configured, customized, and extended to automate the end-to-end build process. This includes how to customize the build process to implement common requirements such as generating API documentation, zipping build outputs and source code, and versioning assemblies. Finally, we’ll look at some of the Team Build functionality in Visual Studio Team System 2010.

Who Is This Book For?

This book is written for everyone who uses MSBuild or Team Build. If you are using Visual Studio to write managed applications then you are already using MSBuild. Inside the Microsoft Build Engine is for all .NET developers and build masters. If you are interested in learning more about how your applications are being built and how you can customize this process then you need this book. If you are currently using or are interested in using Team Build then this book is for you.

This book will help the needs of enterprise teams as well as individuals. Readers should be familiar with creating .NET applications. The reader is not required to be familiar with the build process, as this book will start from the basics and build on that. Because one of the most effective methods for learning is through examples, this book contains many examples.

Organization of This Book

Inside the Microsoft Build Engine is divided into five parts:

Part I, “Overview,” describes all the fundamentals of creating and extending MSBuild project files. Chapter 1, “MSBuild Quick Start,” is a brief chapter to get you started quickly with MSBuild. If you are already familiar with MSBuild then you can skip this chapter; its content will be covered in more detail within chapters 2 and 3. Chapter 2, “MSBuild Deep Dive, Part 1,” discusses such things as static properties, static items, targets, tasks, and msbuild.exe usage. Chapter 3, “MSBuild Deep Dive, Part 2,” extends on Chapter 2 with dynamic properties, dynamic items, how properties and items are evaluated, importing external files, and extending the build process.

Part II, “Customizing MSBuild,” covers the two ways that MSBuild can be extended: custom tasks and custom loggers. Chapter 4, “Custom Tasks,” covers all that you need to know to create your own custom MSBuild tasks. Chapter 5, “Custom Loggers,” details how to create custom loggers and how to attach them to your build process.

Part III, “Advanced MSBuild Topics,” discusses advanced MSBuild concepts. Chapter 6, “Batching and Incremental Builds,” covers two very important topics, MSBuild batching and supporting incremental building. Batching is the process of categorizing items and processing them in batches. Incremental building enables MSBuild to detect when a target is up-to-date and can be skipped. Incremental building can drastically reduce build times for most developer builds. Chapter 7, “External Tools,” provides some guidelines for integrating external tools into the build process. It also shows how NUnit and FXCop can be integrated in the build process in a reusable fashion.

Part IV, “MSBuild Cookbook,” consists of two chapters that are devoted to real-world examples. Chapter 8, “Practical Applications, Part 1,” contains several examples, including: setting the assembly version, customizing the build process in build labs, handling errors, and replacing values in configuration files. Chapter 9, “Practical Applications, Part 2,” covers more examples, most of which are targeted toward developers who are building Web applications using .NET. It includes Web Deployment Projects, starting and stopping services, zipping output files, compressing Javascript file, and encrypting the web.config file.

Part V, “Team Foundation Build,” is devoted to Team Build. Chapter 10, “Team Build Quick Start,” covers the installation, configuration, and usage of Team Build. Chapter 11, “Team Build Deep Dive,” covers how to get the most out of Team Build by customizing and extending the default build process and how to integrate with Team Build using the Team Build API. It also covers things to be aware of when upgrading from Team Build 2005. Finally, Chapter 12, “Team Build Cookbook,” covers a number of common build requirements such as generating API documentation, zipping binaries and source, sharing customizations, and more.

Finally, Sayed will be speaking at the South Florida .NET Code Camp(“a FREE one day GEEK FEST”) on Saturday, February 7 in Miramar, Florida. If you’re in the area and you’re interested in MSBuild, this is a great event to attend. (Fellow Microsoft Press author Shawn Wildermuthwill also be there.)

So it seems that for Bill, “voting” = begging the team at our last meeting, “Let me say it, me, me, me!”

(as if Bill would ever need to be asked to say something controversial :-))

But I guess it’s good that he said it the way he did, because we’ve had a lot of comments in response, and they truly span the spectrum from emphatically positive to harshly negative.

We appreciate everyone who takes the time to give us feedback, and I want to quote and address several of the points you guys raise:

Aaron C. says:

Now if we can just get the HR people to ask for MCTS or MCITP. They seem to be stuck in the past as well. I still list MCSE 2000 and MCSE 2003 on my resume because I have not seen any job listings asking for the new Windows Server 2008 certs yet.

Yep, you’ve got our number here. We have a lot of work to do before hiring managers have MCITP at the top of their minds the way they do with MCSE, and that’s something we’re going to work hard on this year.

When we introduced our new generation of certifications a few years back, we focused most of our marketing (okay, maybe all of our marketing) on differentiating the generations rather than the certifications. We probably should have shifted at least some of our focus to individual certifications by now.

I think we also missed an opportunity to position MCITP:EA as “the new MCSE,” mostly because we wanted to really set apart the new generation of certs without causing confusion or creating the impression that the only thing we did was change the name of our credentials.

But really, if you examine the requirements for MCITP:EA, it’s pretty darn close to what we require for MCSE, and at least with our Learning Solutions Partners, we’ve been gradually positioning it as essentially “MCSE for Windows Server 2008.” (There: I’ve said it publicly now.)

I offered to have our product marketing managers who are focusing on hiring managers join us here for a guest-blog, and Michael Dragone thought that was a good idea… so I’ll see how quickly I can make that happen (takes a few days just to get people added to Technet Blogs as authors, so bear with me, please)

Another reader, becn, said:

Yes, MCSE is dead. But I dont really care about those initials. What I really really REALLY miss is the nice, clean, simple graduation mcp --> mcsa --> mcse.

Now we have a complete hodge-podge of TS s and ITP s. The current explosion of certificates is a complete mess and such a disaster I ve stopped bothering to follow them or update.

I take partial issue with you, becn: the simple progression is actually there—just replace MCP-->MCSA-->MCSE with MCTS-->MCITP:SA-->MCITP:EA, and you’ve got pretty much the same path.

I think what’s confusing folks—and this is what I’ll accept responsibility for on behalf of my organization—is that we haven’t marketed the key certifications above and beyond the entire family. Sure there are a zillion flavors of MCTS out there, but it was the same thing before with MCP. And yes, there may be more credentials folded into MCITP (SA, EA, DBD, DBA, BID) than with the clean-and-simple MCSE… unless you factor in the family of “plusses” and “colons” that we tacked on to MCSA and MCSE over the years.

So in short—I don’t think our current certification strategy is any more or less complicated than what we used to have—we just haven’t done our job well enough in abstracting the key certifications so that it appears simple.

(Side note: Julian, forward your feedback to the MCM team, thanks!)

Some of our harshest feedback came from RobE, who wrote:

I m amazed that some here are praising this decision.

The MCSE was and still is a very strong brand and to replace it with these bland obscure terms is a very bad move in my opinion. The benefits of certification have become far weaker as time has progressed and this is demonstrated in real terms such as salaries offered for vacancies requiring certification as well as the popularity of the certifications. These changes only serve to weaken the value further.

Being able to say “I have an MCSE” was a nice clear term that had gained recognition both in IT and with those who worked with IT staff. Now we have “I am an MCITPro EA”, not exactly catchy is it? There’s also the “administrator thing”, we already had an MCSA and that was the mid range qualification and now the higher level is also an “Administrator”. Not good for anyone who had an MCSE, worked on implementations and likes the separation from admin roles. This leaves only the new MCM cert which given the costs alone is not a practical proposition just about everyone.

I accept the MCSE is a dying cert thanks to you and your colleagues but that doesn’t mean I have to like it or that Microsoft products and certifications will be my preferred choice in future.

Quite a few good points raised here, so let me try to address them:

I have to admit, MCITP doesn’t roll off the tongue like MCSE does, but I do think it’s pretty intuitive when you see it on paper (or screen), and I think that’s what we were going for.

As for the “administrator” thing, it’s a long story, but let’s just say that there are a lot of (non-systems) engineers out there who are very (and legally) protective of their title. We had to change it to something else or risk getting our MCSEs caught in the middle. “Administrator” really seemed like the right job title, and we decided to differentiate the scope of the role (server vs. enterprise) instead.

As far as benefits go, I think we agree that the primary one is the recognition given a certification by an employer… and from what I’m hearing, the current economic decline has made certification more valuable than it’s been in a long, long time. As for more tangible benefits…. more info to come.

My final thoughts (for now, anyway) on the whole “dying cert” thing:

I understand what RobE and Bill and others mean, but I gotta say: it sure doesn’t feel like MCSE is dying to me. A funny thing happens to some certifications after a while—they get kind of abstracted from a particular product or platform and become associated more to a type of person, or to get even more abstract: a particular quality or trait.

In my mind, MCSE = expert technologist. No particular product springs immediately to mind, or even a specific job role. I just have this vague-yet-strong mental association between the MCSE acronym and some of the smartest technical individuals I’ve encountered in my career. I can’t think of any other certification of ours that has that effect on me, other than MCT. (Perhaps MCSD does too, but I’m not a developer, so I’m not as attuned to it.)

A more professional marketer than I am would probably describe what I just wrote as the evolution of a product name into a brand, and I suspect that’s why we’re all (me included) so emotionally attached to MCSE and not to MCITP. MCITP is a name (or acronym), whereas MCSE is a brand (rather accidentally so, but nonetheless), and people form emotional connections to brands, not product names.

So for me, and I suspect for many of you, MCSE will live on far, far beyond the products on which it was based. I can honestly picture calling myself an MCSE 10 years from now—because I like the self-image I think of when I say that.

The question now is: can we bottle lightning twice? I hope so. We’ll certainly try.

Whether or not the acronym rolls off ones tongue easily enough shouldn t be the focus. Nor should it be a reason to retain the certification. Let s face it, the MCSE has never fully recovered from the "paper" era. Although the MCSE is widely known, there was a time when it wasn t. And it s popularity is not all positive. I believe Microsoft made a good judgement in parting ways with the MCSE. It was a broad certification that required more than the average "administrator" performed on a daily basis, ergo MCSA.

It is important to stress the meaning of both the MCTS and MCITP, and the purpose of their creation. Once people understand why, they can accept - like it or not. I love the new generation certifications. They are clear and decisive in their meaning. The MCSE was not. I don t think the engineer status was accurate from the very beginning. At least now one can say I am an MCTS in Vista Configuration or I am an MCITP Enterprise Administrator. It is specific. To the point.

The desktop support person is an ITP. The enterprise admin is an ITP. They are two extremes with nothing to differentiate them except a cavet. A desktop support person here is going around claiming "ITP(enterprise)". He s a little peeved at how basic the 620 exam was tho after doing the xp one a while ago. Words like "lobotomized" and "comptia A+" are being muttered.

You position the SA as being in the progression to an EA. Yet the EA requires knowledge of the desktop but the SA doesn t. When in reality someone going through the progression and doing SA is more likely to be involved in the desktop deployment and policy implementation than EA.

The ITP s are a poorly thought out mess with nothing to differentiate expertise.

I can understand all the good reasons that MCSE was replaced with the next generation.

And i can also understand the frusturation ppl feel,cos basically an entry level worker who does desktop technical support would be an MCITP (MCITP: Enterprise Support Technician)and a guy who is really smart and knows the inside out Windows Server 2008 and has years of experience would also be an MCITP (MCITP: Enterprise Administrator).

They both have the same title, MCITP.

What i think needs to be done is that when you market MCITP to the HR guys , you really STRESS THAT "MCITP" ISN T THE IMPORT THING, BUT THE FIELD IN WHICH THEY ARE MCITP IS THE IMPORTANT THING.

I ve never heard ANYONE from Microsoft say that the MCSE is dead. In fact, that is quite inaccurate and an insult to all those that have worked hard for this certification. Certifications DO NOT expire. Though the MCITP is relevant to today s technology, the MCSE is NOT dead. Also, to mention that it is dead, in the same breath as "If you re working on your 2003 MCSE right now, you should finish it" seems to be part of an ill concieved message.

You don t have to bring down the MCSE to improve the value/visibility of the MCITP (and MCTS by the way). Leverage the positive aspects of the MCSE to improve the brand recognition of the MCITP.

Mike, I think Bill s comment was intended to be provocative rather than insulting.

Certainly, those of us with MCSE certifications will always be able to claim such, and as far as the market goes, a certification is only dead when companies stop valuing it, and I think we re still a ways off from that happening with MCSE.

Rather, the context for Bill s article was that since we re not updating MCSE for Windows Server 2008 and beyond, anyone who is waiting and hoping that we will would be better served by embracing MCITP and moving forward with us.

Sorry if we rubbed you the wrong way--that was of course not our intent!

Ken Wrote: "But really, if you examine the requirements for MCITP:EA, it’s pretty darn close to what we require for MCSE, and at least with our Learning Solutions Partners, we’ve been gradually positioning it as essentially “MCSE for Windows Server 2008.” (There: I’ve said it publicly now.)"

THANK YOU for finally saying it! Even at Tech-Ed last year "IT Pros" as well as Microsoft staff were very confused about the upgrade path from MCSE. I was looking at a very large poster showing off the new certification suites MCTS and MCITP near the testing center. Passers by and Microsoft staff could not answer the question about where to go from MCSE 2003.

Evangelizing the MCITP: EA as the upgrade will go a long way to solidify the usefulness of the cert in the minds of both employers as well as professionals looking to upgrade to prove their worth in this current economy.

I find it interesting that after months and motnhs trying to say that MCSE != MCITPEA and MCSA != MCITPSA, we are now all trying to argue the opposite.

MCP -> MCSA -> MCSE = MCTS->MCITPSA->MCITPEA

One thing that you guys seem to miss, HR doesnt like colon certs. And asking for an MCTS or MCITP by themselves means nothing.

You could ask for an MCITP for a database job and get people applying with EA credentails. The job role is completely different.

Thats why peopled liked MCSA and MCSE because it was a clear cert, no confusion behind it, simple and to the point.

Go back and look at the MCSE Security. Can you think of any instance where someone looked for the colon specialty? I bet you can count them on the fingers of one hand.

When you have to build an org chart 11 pages wide to show how two credentials progress and all of the available permutations of each, do you think the message really is likely to get accross as you intended?

The quality of training is determined most by the quality of your trainer, the MCT. Our MCTs are passionate about technology and we know that with more resources they will dig deeper into the technologies and as a result offer even better training. That is why we will be providing our MCTs with more tools in the next few months.

Good news never gets old, and if it does forgive me, I just want to make sure you did not miss this. Microsoft Certified Trainers, if you have not heard about our new benefits and renewal timelines, read on!

The new MCT Program will start in April and this year we will be opening Renewal one month early, i.e. March 1st and you can renew until the end of April. This will give you an additional month to renew, the new program year will start in April, renewing in March will give you a full year in the program (April 1st 2009 - March 31st 2010).

You may have heard of the new MCT Benefits which focus on getting you the basic tools MCTs need: a FREE TechNet Plus Direct subscription will be provided to all MCTs that renew! TechNet is such a fantastic content treasure chest with its technical libraries, TechNet magazine and access to over 70 Microsoft products and betas (no more downloading betas from BitTorrent, get the real deal!) and of course there are the newsgroups and concierge offering you support 24/7.

Another benefit that we feel may not have the attention it should have is the discount on what we call e-ref . Microsoft Press has over 600 titles available online (e-reference) and more titles are added all the time. Retailing at 250USD, MCTs will get a 60% discount in the new program year.

Meanwhile, I m still enjoying the fantastic performance of Windows 7 and discovering new stuff all the time, get the beta and check out www.microsoft.com/springboard!

Thanks for the Great work at getting a Real benefit (not that all were not) I know you have work hard to get things for MCTs and the powers to be put it down...but through your and all the MCTs...we made it. Thanks again

I am already a TNP subscriber and I assume that this will just be added on to my subscription and extend my just purchased 1 year sub to 2 years (as long as I remain a MCT)...of course if this were to contiune next year and so on; then what s the difference.

WOW thanks Ken this is great and this without doubt will add value to all MCT Trainers. This rocks, again thanks to Microsoft as this realy does prove that they care about MCTs and all the hard work they do to achive there certifications. Once again thanks as this will realy add value.

Well I just paid more money to save 20% for next years TechNet, but this is something I have always advocated for MCT S so that they may be proficient on the job and a great bonus.....MicroSoft Press because trainers learn best by teaching them selves through self paced training (lab work with the tools to do it with)!

Thank you Microsoft. A very very good decision. I have always felt that MCT s are a major asset to Microsoft. Keeping the tools in the shed sharp and ready is a good thing. Again, thank you Microsoft for the great decision.

I have been buying Technet. It will be so good to get it as a part of the MCT program. Finally Microsoft has realised it needs to take care of the MCTs... after all we also promote Microsoft business. I will sure look at e-ref as well.

This has been in my comment line from day one. MCT s are the active IT professionals that are demonstrating to the IT community the tools that Microsoft can offer. The ability for use to get the Documentation that we needed was a great step, VPC images to help with classroom setup was another great move, but this is a perfect trifecta. Now we have access to the software and tools needed.

All credits to Ken and Tjeerd not least whoever came with the idea for Tech Net Benefits which will encourage us "MCT s" to test Application and e-ref unfortunately I have already purchased mine early this year.

My apology already in case I missed information on how to actually get the new Technet subscription. I have already re-enrolled my MCT status for 2009 and cant use the old code to get the Technet subscription any longer - are we supposed to get sign up codes via email - or will the subscription start automatically (which would be great)

Microsoft Press, and all of Microsoft Learning, is moving today from an older building (“the maze”) on the Microsoft campus to the brand-spanking-new Bravern Office Commons. Information, renderings, and views can be found here.

It really is time for people to learn and accept the fact that the MCSE is not coming back.A couple of years ago we went to the MCITP model to show the actual differentiation in tracks of certification.Look, I get it: I’m attached to my MCSE too, I’ve held that certification since 1998. But I’ve moved on, and you guys should too. We’ve earned our new MCITP Enterprise Administrator, and the more we proclaim it, the more recognition it will receive. You should be proud of attaining that certification.

This is another case of history repeating, when the MCSE first came out few knew what that was all about either, but we talked about it and those outside our IT circles came to know what we knew, that the MCSE was the person who made the magic of IT happen.The MCITP Enterprise Administrator is the new certification to show who is the one who has the magic of IT, but that does not change the fact that there is no MCSE for Windows Server 2008 and there never will be.

Now that the harsh truth is out there, and yes I got voted the one to give the harsh truth, there is an alternative.The MCSE 2003 is a nice beginning for the MCITP Enterprise Administrator, it is the upgrade that you are looking for.It covers the things that an MCSE used to.Total of 5 exams if you are not already an MCSE and if you are already an MCSE there’s an Upgrade Path.

So you might ask yourself, why is Bill telling us stuff we have already heard, the answer is that it seems that many people out there have either not heard it or just don’t want to listen.In the past couple of weeks I have answered this question at least 5 times, “where is the MCSE 2008?”And I told them the same thing that I am telling you, there is none.So here we are with the “new” certification, it’s not really new as anyone who did SQL Server in 2005 can tell you, but how do identify to others the lofty achievement I have attained?I tell them I am an Enterprise Administrator on Microsoft Windows Server 2008.That is usually sufficient to most people; I know it worked with my parents.If not then I go into further details of what the MCITP is and how the program works.

The next question that comes up is what do I do if I am partly through the MCSE 2003, should I finish?Of course you should, Windows Server 2003 is not going to go away any time soon and there is plenty of work out there, there are still people running on both Microsoft Windows Server 2000 (nearly 10 years old at this point) and Microsoft Windows Server NT 4.0 (well over a decade old).I of course would tell those people to upgrade to an operating system built in this millennium but that is another discussion.So I don’t see those MCSE for 2003 suddenly gathering dust in the corner somewhere, so finish what you started.And then do the upgrade to MCITP Enterprise Administrator and have multiple servers that you are certified to work on, thus expanding your job opportunities.And in this economy anything that expands your job opportunities is a good thing.

Now if we can just get the HR people to ask for MCTS or MCITP. They seem to be stuck in the past as well. I still list MCSE 2000 and MCSE 2003 on my resume because I have not seen any job listings asking for the new Windows Server 2008 certs yet.

While I agree the MCITP is the way of the future, the value of any certification is in how it is held by the people that matter. In this case as Aaron says that is the HRs and CIOs of this world.

The other issue is as Bill has pointed out MCSE is specific to a technology, my MCSE shows that I am adept at planning and administering a 2003 (and backwardly compatable) network infrastructure, the MCITP shows a competancy primarly in the 2008 server platform and while this is still the case this demonstrates a less relevent approach to the current business market than MCSE.

MCITP is the future and will be my target for the next month, but I m yet to be convinced it is the present.

Bill, tell the ones who voted you the "one to give bad news" that you guys are really making us miss Trika sometimes. ;) Just kidding...

I know you aren t trying to politely invalidate the MCSE, but honestly it s the one HR folks are still asking for. Your points aren t met with market-reality yet, but 2009 s economic problems and the ensuing glut job-seekers WILL push MCITP further along.

It took a decade of post Novell-CNE era nearly a decade for the MCSE to truly take hold IT markets, and it will take (less) time for MCITP. I got my MCITP EA at a time when fewer than 4000 other people had it, and I don t see it anywhere near outnumbering the MCSE for at least another year or two. Of course MS wants to change that (hence the reason you were "voted" to give us this "bad news"), but MS doesn t have to do anything: the ailing economy and job cut environment already has IT folks back on the certification-treadmill, regardless of this blog.

I only confuse people when I try to correct them about the "MCSE 2008" questions, and yes I get them. Of course it s annoying to have to explain it but, then again, the MCSE s value is no less diminished. In fact, in a post-2003 era, if two potential-hires come to me looking for a job, the one who has a range of experience administering various Windows infrastructures and has just an MCSE has the edge on the lesser-experience guy no matter what MS certs he holds. So MCSEs don t despair, BUT realize that this economy will generate a TON of MCITPs over the next 18 months or so. You will need to skill up on 2008 products NOW and certify on the new track, regardless of your IT environment, if you want to add additional insurance to the ole resume. MS hasn t yet got the message to the HR folks, but once they do, they WILL inevitably start asking for MCITPs in a couple years.

Also MS Learning Team: PLEASE let MS know they need recessionary discounts considered for the MCM, beyond the temporary ones. If I am a 15-year IT vet with MCITP:EA, 2 MCSEs, an a CCNP I shouldn t have to surrender a ton of coin to take an MCM class up in Redmond or go for the MCA.

The MCSE isn t dead, it s just not receiving any further support, which is a shame.

It s kinda funny being sentimental about certs, but with the MCSE there was a history, a legacy, a continuation. NT4, 2000, 2003, and then you just blew it out of the water with the good ship MCITP.

OK, so you ve got to roll with the punches, and when the supertanker with speedboat tendencies decides to change course then everyone else, has, regrettably to follow. The king is dead, long live the king and all that.

So as a learner, what do you do? Well after being very angry at MS for a while, I completed my MCSE 2003, then went and upgraded to MCITP, then I decided to do other certs, namely Cisco and ITIL. At the moment, I see greater value away from MS certs, because the message about the new certs is just not getting out there, and a lot of companies in the present economic climate have what I’d call, upgrade fatigue , they are making do with what they ve got.

And so I am a drifter , I have drifted away from MS certs, the MCM programme looks very interesting, but, like with all things at the moment, It s too damn expensive. I m sure It s a fantastic experience and the learning content is awesome, but when you factor in things like course costs, travel, accommodation, time off work etc etc you’re staring at probably 25 large. The current discounts are a nice gesture, but not enough. And as the recruiters don t even know what an MCTS is, then what hope do we have that they know what an MCM: Directory / Exchange is? Yep, the same figure probably came to your mind also!

So to summarise, MCITP, it s new, it s shiny, it s not recognised (outside MS), a bit like driving a new car through town and nobody noticing. Yeah you spent all that money and no one is even interested.

PS. Nice post Bill, bad news is always difficult to deliver. I especially liked the line it is the upgrade that you are looking for , reminded me of, well, a phrase from a well known movie circa 1977... Move along...

The MCSE was and still is a very strong brand and to replace it with these bland obscure terms is a very bad move in my opinion. The benefits of certification have become far weaker as time has progressed and this is demonstrated in real terms such as salaries offered for vacancies requiring certification as well as the popularity of the certifications. These changes only serve to weaken the value further.

Being able to say “I have an MCSE” was a nice clear term that had gained recognition both in IT and with those who worked with IT staff. Now we have “I am an MCITPro EA”, not exactly catchy is it? There’s also the “administrator thing”, we already had an MCSA and that was the mid range qualification and now the higher level is also an “Administrator”. Not good for anyone who had an MCSE, worked on implementations and likes the separation from admin roles. This leaves only the new MCM cert which given the costs alone is not a practical proposition just about everyone.

I accept the MCSE is a dying cert thanks to you and your colleagues but that doesn’t mean I have to like it or that Microsoft products and certifications will be my preferred choice in future.

We re working very hard to gather more data that will help us articulate the ROI for MCM better (always hard when it s something new), and drive understanding among hiring managers and recruiters.

We firmly believe the ROI is there and acknowledge that especially in these times, it is out of reach for many. Still, I can t think of a better career move - for anyone out there that is highly specialized on a technology and can manage the cost - than to get their MCM now...in these times.

If I understand the purpose of the MCM and MCA level certifications correctly, the experience on your resume should far overshadow the certification itself. Though it would make a great talking point in an interview.

The same goes for "becn". If your resume was previously emphasizing your certifications over your real world work experience, you were probably going about things backwards anyway. The certs are supposed to validate experience, not the other way around. My certs have always been listed at the tail end of my resume.

I would like to see Microsoft start advertising and creating gold partner requirements for the new line of certs. I peronsonally am glad to see the industry stop looking at the MCSE as the gold standard for certifications. It was entry level at best.

Microsoft NEEDS certs that really prove someone skills that the MCSE s multiple choice questions/one action sims couldn t do. Look at the RHCE and CCIE certs, this is how we should be testing people s ability.

Yes, its a real shame to let the mcse brand go ? What could have motivated that decision. MCitp and mcts are not catching on and i doubt they will ever do... The mcse was well recognized. Even if mcitp someday gains the same level of recognition, this move has set us back years...

Also replace a cert that had engineer in its name by one that has administrator ?

And why name the 2 new certs enterprise admin and server admin ? This is really confusing fo hr people.

I know the decision is taken and you wont change it, whatever we say, but this has really lowered the value of microsoft certifications.

Where I work, noone is planning to update their mcse to mcitp. No clients ask about it and hr doesnt know about it. And its been out for 3 years.

This is my favourite month of the year, as we run events for our Microsoft Certified Trainers we get to travel and meet our trainers around the world. We had great events in Europe (Prague) and the US (Redmond) and right now I m shivering from yesterday s vaccinations as we are about to go to India (Hyderabad). It reminds me of that old Police song A Man in a Suitcase and I m happy to be one, if just for a month.

It is great to meet so many of our trainers as we get ready for Windows 7 (which I just installed today and WOW does my PC MOVE!!!), Windows Server 2008 R2, Exchange 14 , etc. etc. Sure, the economy around the world is pretty broken right now, but we still share that passion for technology. Going through the new features and applications of the latest and upcoming technology with one or two hundred people never gets old!

Did you know there are now 15.000 Microsoft Certified Trainers around the world? They train, consult, deploy, study, write courseware, blog, twitter and surf and they have deep knowledge and are not afraid to share it with you! While we all share the passion for technology, people are different all around the world. That is why we will be taking a camera with us and we ll have some short clips of next week s MCT Summit on these pages soon!

Active Directory Administrator’s Pocket Consultant is esigned to be a concise and compulsively usable resource for Windows administrators. This is the readable resource guide you’ll want on your desk or in your pocket at all times. The book discusses everything you need to perform the core administrative tasks for Active Directory. Because the focus is on providing you with the maximum value in a pocket-sized guide, you don’t have to wade through hundreds of pages of extraneous information to find what you’re looking for. Instead, you’ll find exactly what you need to get the job done.

In short, the book is designed to be the one resource you consult whenever you have questions regarding Active Directory administration. To this end, the book concentrates on daily administration procedures, frequently performed tasks, documented examples, and options that are representative but not necessarily inclusive. One of the goals is to keep the content so concise that the book remains compact and easy to navigate while ensuring that the book is packed with as much information as possible—making it a valuable resource. Thus, instead of a hefty thousand-page tome or a lightweight hundred-page quick reference, you get a valuable resource guide that can help you efficiently perform common tasks, solve problems, and implement such advanced administration areas as establishing cross-forest trusts, optimizing intersite replication, changing domain design, and troubleshooting.

Who Is This Book For?

Active Directory Administrator’s Pocket Consultant covers Active Directory for small, medium, and large organizations. The book is designed for:

·Current Windows and network administrators

·Support staff who maintain Windows networks

·Accomplished users who have some administrator responsibilities

·Administrators transferring from other platforms

To pack in as much information as possible, I had to assume that you have basic networking skills and a basic understanding of Windows, and that Windows is already installed on your systems. With this in mind, I don’t devote entire chapters to understanding Windows architecture, installing Windows, or Windows networking.

I do, however, provide complete details on the components of Active Directory networks and how you can use these components. I cover installing domain controllers, configuring Active Directory sites, and much more.

I also assume that you are fairly familiar with Windows commands and procedures as well as the Windows user interface. If you need help learning Windows basics, you should read the Windows documentation.

How Is This Book Organized?

Active Directory Administrator’s Pocket Consultant is designed to be used in the daily administration of Active Directory, and as such, the book is organized by job-related tasks rather than by features. Speed and ease of reference are essential parts of this hands-on guide. The book has an expanded table of contents and an extensive index for finding answers to problems quickly. Many other quick-reference features have been added as well. These features include quick step-by-step instructions, lists, tables with fast facts, and extensive cross-references. The book is organized into both parts and chapters.

Active Directory is an extensible directory service that enables you to manage network resources efficiently. Part I, “Implementing Active Directory,” reviews the fundamental tasks you need for Active Directory administration. Chapter 1 provides an overview of tools, techniques, and concepts related to Active Directory. Chapter 2 discusses installing forests, domain trees, and child domains. Updates to Active Directory for Windows Server 2008 Release 2 (R2) are discussed in Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 as well. Chapter 3 details techniques for deploying writable domain controllers and the tasks you’ll need to perform to set up domain controllers. Chapter 4 covers the deployment of read-only domain controllers. Together, these chapters provide the detailed information you need to configure domains and forests, whether you are deploying Active Directory Domain Services for the first time or extending your existing infrastructure.

Part III, “Maintaining and Recovering Active Directory,” discusses the administrative tasks you’ll use to maintain Active Directory. Chapter 8 describes how to manage trusts and authentication. You’ll learn how Active Directory authentication works within domains, across domain boundaries, and across forest boundaries. You’ll also learn how trusts are used and established. Chapter 9 provides techniques you can use to maintain, monitor, and troubleshoot Active Directory infrastructure. In addition to learning techniques for backing up and recovering Active Directory, you’ll also learn how to perform essential maintenance tasks and how to configure related options and services, including Windows Time service.

Finally, Appendix A provides a quick reference for command-line utilities you’ll use when working with Active Directory.

Conventions Used in This Book

I’ve used a variety of elements to help keep the text clear and easy to follow. You’ll find code terms and listings in monospace type, except when I tell you to actually type a command. In that case, the command appears in bold type. When I introduce and define a new term, I put it in italics.

Other conventions include:

·NotesTo provide details on a point that needs emphasis

·Best PracticesTo examine the best technique to use when working with advanced configuration and administration concepts

Gurdeep Singh Pall, Corporate Vice President of Unified Communications Group, wrote the Foreword:

Foreword

Microsoft Office Communications Server simplifies the mechanics of communicating with others and broadens the potential for interactive collaboration. Our team’s vision is to simplify and integrate the possible modes of communication into a seamless experience that centers on the person you want to interact with and the type of communication you want to have. This paradigm shift is the new world of Unified Communications.

With this new edition of the Office Communications Server Resource Kit, Rui Maximo, Rick Kingslan, Rajesh Ramanathan, and Nirav Kamdar, along with 18 Microsoft insiders from the product, user assistance, and field teams, reveal the technical depth, scenarios, and diagnostic techniques specific to the Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 product. The Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 Resource Kit is the result of their efforts over the past year in pushing the first edition to a new higher standard. Rather than simply update the first edition, the project team rebuilt the book from the ground up, putting each chapter through extensive customer and peer review, removing extraneous content, adding important new content, ensuring that the information is readily understandable, and driving consistency and coherency across the 22 chapters. A special thanks to Susan Bradley for driving both editions of the Resource Kit to progressively high standards.

This book not only details the new features, it also adds five new chapters that delve into topics that are most important to customers, such as voice mail, Private Branch eXchange (PBX) integration (dual forking and Direct Session Initiation Protocol [SIP]), and client deployment. You’ll also notice many new sidebars in this edition, with even more tips from the field and in-depth information from the product team. An updated troubleshooting chapter offers detailed examples and techniques. In addition, you’ll find updated scripts that are easier to use and more easily customizable for your individual needs.

The first edition of the Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 Resource Kit introduced Office Communications Server to those who were new to the product, and it provided a reference for experts who needed details about how the product works. The first edition of the Resource Kit was so successful that every new employee in the Microsoft Office Communications Server group now receives a copy. It has shown itself to be an important tool for customers, consultants, and our own developers. I hope that you will find this newest edition of the Resource Kit to be an indispensible tool that enables you to get the most out of Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2. And as always, we look forward to your feedback for the next edition.

Check out the awesome discounts we re currently running! 50% off for beta discounts, and 30% off for a limited time on all rotations...and if you apply in the next 3 minutes, you get a free beer cozy signed by the entire team to boot! Sure to be a priceless collectors item! ;-)

We ve gotten more personal with the interweb, too. Check out The Master Blog which we started just last week. We ll post not only updates and info on the program there (we ll still add announcements here, too, of course), but we are also giving our community members the opportunity to post entries themselves. Check out The Road to Master... for example, just entered today by one of our newest MCM s.

Welcome to the Microsoft Press blog! I m Sandra Haynes, a developmental editor with Press. I ve spent most of my career at Press as a developmental editor focused on books for the information worker and consumer audience. I ve mainly worked on book series (Inside Out, Step by Step, Plain & Simple) as wells as books in the Skills family (Beyond Bullet Points: Using Microsoft Office PowerPoint to Create Presentations That Inform, Motivate, and Inspire, by Cliff Atkinson, is one example).

I enjoy helping create books that help people use technology to do cool things, solve problems, and make managing their work and lives easier. I also enjoy working with authors and teams to create the book that meets just that need happen. I love technology. I love what it can do. I enjoy working on products that bring home these possibilities to users.

I look forward to stopping in to write about some of the cool stuff going on here at Press and upcoming as well as in-process projects. Feel free to drop a line and send share any feedback: sandrah@microsoft.com.

I love the blog via RSS feeds but would also appreciate a certification-centered podcast. How about a weekly, 15 minute podcast starring yourself and a guest? There are so many good topics you could cover!

Welcome all. I’m Martin DelRe, a product planner for Microsoft Press books and Microsoft Learning courseware and e-learning. I focus on books and learning products for IT Professionals. I’ve been at Microsoft for 12 years, beginning as an author on the Windows Resource Kits Team, then manager of that team, and then as the IT Pro books planner for Microsoft Press. Prior to Microsoft, I worked as a networking professional and network-to-host integration specialist.

I especially enjoy working with our expert authors and editorial team. I plan the projects in cooperation with the authors and then turn the authors loose on our editors so they can work their magic together. It s not always pretty along the way, especially when the beta software doesn t work as expected, but they always find a way to make sure the final books are top notch. I especially like to facilitate the interaction between the authors and the internal Microsoft software experts. That combination makes for some really useful and in-depth content.

I m always planning something new and we re always looking ways to improve so I hope you’ll let me know what you would like us to consider for future books. mdelre@microsoft.com

I m Ken Jones, a product planner at Microsoft Learning. I plan Microsoft Press books, particularly the Training Kit and SQL Server series. I also plan ILT (Instructor-Led Training) and e-Learning courseware, but my first love is books.

At Microsoft Press, my job is what most publishers would call an acquisitions editor. I review our Training Kit and SQL Server list of titles and decide what new books or updated editions we need, and when to publish them. These new books come from proposals submitted by authors, as well as from ideas developed in our planning meetings. In the latter case, I try to match up these book ideas with the best authors we can find. Working with authors and potential authors is the great joy of my job.

I m looking forward to posting on new Microsoft Press Training Kits and SQL Server titles. I d also be happy to reply to any questions you might have about the acquisitions and publishing process. Please feel free to email me directly at kjones@microsoft.com.

Hello and welcome to the Microsoft Press blog!I’m Karen Szall and I’m an editor with Press. I’ve worked in technical publishing more years than I will admit to, and I have worked across the spectrum of audiences. Over the last several years, I have worked most often on IT Pro titles. And why do I do this year after year? I love working with authors. It is wonderful to watch an outline turn into a published book and to participate in the creative process that makes it happen.

I am in awe of our authors; they are smart, dedicated, incredibly overworked, and they seem to thrive under pressure. They are truly an amazing bunch and they produce some of the best books in the business.

With this blog, we are going to keep you posted on anything and everything related to upcoming titles, what our authors are up to, events, and anything we find that might be of use to you. Please feel free to join in and let us know what you think about any of the posted topics. We look forward to hearing from you. karsz@microsoft.com

And here's Donald Farmer's Foreword, which includes a description of the book:

Foreword

When Lynn Langit’s name appears in my inbox or RSS feeds, I never know what to expect— only that it will be interesting! She may be inviting me to share a technical webcast, passing pithy comments about a conference speaker, or recalling the sight of swimming elephants in Zambia, where Lynn tirelessly promotes information technology as a force for improving health care. On this occasion, it was an invitation to write a foreword for this, her latest book, Smart Business Intelligence Solutions with Microsoft SQL Server 2008. As so often, when Lynn asks, the only possible response is, “Of course—I’d be happy to!”

When it comes to business intelligence, Lynn is a compulsive communicator. As a Developer Evangelist at Microsoft, this is part of her job, but Lynn’s enthusiasm for the technologies and their implications goes way beyond that. Her commitment is clear in her presentations and webcasts, in her personal engagements with customers across continents, and in her writing. Thinking of this, I am more than pleased to see this new book, especially to see that it tackles the SQL Server business intelligence (BI) technologies in their broad scope.

Business intelligence is never about one technology solving one problem. In fact, a good BI solution can address many problems at many levels—tactical, strategic, and even operational. Part I, “Business Intelligence for Business Decision Makers and Architects,” explores these business scenarios.

To solve these problems, you will find that your raw data is rarely sufficient. The BI developer must apply business logic to enrich the data with analytical insights for business users. Without this additional business logic, your system may only tell the users what they already know. Part II, “Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Analysis Services for Developers,” takes a deep look at using Analysis Services to create OLAP cubes and data mining models.

By their nature, these problems often require you to integrate data from across your business. SQL Server 2008 Integration Services is the platform for this work, and in Part III, “Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Integration Services for Developers,” Lynn tackles this technology. She not only covers the details of building single workloads, but also sets this work in its important architectural context, covering management and deployment of the integration solutions.

Finally, in Part IV, “Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services and Other Client Interfaces for Business Intelligence,” there is a detailed exploration of the options for designing and publishing reports. This section also covers other popular “clients”—the applications through which business users interact with your BI solution. So, even if you are a Microsoft Office Excel user, there is valuable information here.

When all of these elements—integration, analysis, and reporting—come together, you know you are implementing a “smart solution,” the essence of this most helpful book.

I know from my own work at Microsoft, presenting and writing about BI, how difficult it is to find good symmetry between technology and the business case. I also know how important it is. Architects may build smart technology solutions, but enterprise decision makers put the business into BI. For these readers, Lynn makes very few assumptions. She quickly, yet quite thoroughly, takes the reader through a basic taxonomy of the moving parts of a BI solution.

However, this book is more than a basic introduction—it gets down to the details you need to build effective solutions. Even experienced users will find useful insights and information here. For example, all OLAP developers work with Analysis Services data source views. However, many of them do not even know about the useful data preview feature. In Chapter 7, “Designing OLAP Cubes Using BIDS,” Lynn not only describes the feature, but also includes a good example of its use for simple validation and profiling. It is, for me, a good measure of a book that it finds new things to say even about the most familiar features.

For scenarios that may be less familiar to you, such as data mining, Lynn carefully sets out the business cases, the practical steps to take, and the traps to avoid. Having spent many hours teaching and evangelizing about data mining myself, I really admire how Lynn navigates through the subject. In one chapter, she starts from the highest level (“Why would I use data mining?”) to the most detailed (“What is the CLUSTERING_METHOD parameter for?”), retaining a pleasant and easy logical flow.

It is a privilege to work at Microsoft with Lynn. She clearly loves working with her customers and the community. This book captures much of her enthusiasm and knowledge in print. You will enjoy it, and I will not be surprised if you keep it close at hand on your desk whenever you work with SQL Server 2008.